Rochester’s Select Board, meeting on Monday night, dissolved the Public Safety Feasibility Study Committee that was examining the town’s goal of improving Police and Fire Department facilities and created a Public Safety Facility Building Committee.

            Public Safety Feasibility Study Committee Chairman Arnie Johnson told the Select Board that the feasibility report has been produced, detailing options. Unfortunately, he said, all the options “will cost a lot of money.”

            Johnson said that is why he is recommending the Public Safety Feasibility Study Committee be disbanded and a Public Safety Facility Building Committee be appointed. “So we can explore other options,” Johnson said. “Bring the original cost estimates down.” He gave as examples: focusing on the main Fire Station alone and finding an alternative to a traditional “stick” construction.

            The Select Board followed his lead and appointed 11 voting members to a new Public Safety Facility Building Committee.

            Eight committee members represent town government: Johnson (Planning Board chairman), Fire Chief Scott Weigel, Police Chief Robert Small, Select Board member Adam Murphy, Facilities Manager Andrew Daniel, Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Eldridge, Finance Committee member David Arancio and Town Administrator Glenn Cannon. Select Board member Brad Morse will serve as Murphy’s alternate.

            The other three voting members are Rochester residents Brian Porter, Bob Francis and David Sullivan.

            In February, the Public Safety Facility Feasibility Study Committee agreed with consultant Ted Galante’s focus for examining whether to combine, replace or rehab the town’s police and fire stations to alleviate cramped quarters.

            The committee, with Galante’s assistance, studied the feasibility of renovating and expanding the Police Station at 26 Dexter Lane, building a new Fire Station headquarters at 65 Pine Street or on Mendell Road and further down the timeline, build Fire Department substation on High Street where a quicker emergency response will be needed when a proposed, 60-unit senior housing development is built off Route 28.

            While postpandemic building costs have skyrocketed in general, even over the several months since the Feasibility Study was launched, the committee’s estimation of total hard and soft costs for a three-facility project (main Fire Station, east-side substation and Police Station expansion/renovation) has soared from initial ballpark figures. When the report was completed last week, the hard construction cost of a new main Fire Station alone was estimated at $21,000,000. Soft construction costs typically add approximately 30%.

            Later in the meeting, the Select Board helped create another new committee after Arancio requested the town create a By-Law Review Committee “to really dig down into a bylaws where they need revising,” he said.

            Arancio noted that Town Planner Nancy Durfee had proposed that a similar, less formal bylaw review board be created. She has since withdrawn that plan in favor of seeing the creation of this bylaw committee as proposed Monday night.

            The Select Board proceeded to establish a seven-member By-Law Review Committee to include: three ZBA members, two Planning Board members and citizens’ at-large members appointed by the Select Board and nonvoting members from Town Hall staff. Morse said the public should contact Town Hall to volunteer for an at-large seat.

            In other action, the Select Board quickly approved a request by Building Commissioner Paul Boucher to take legal action against 0 Walnut Plain Road. Boucher did not comment further as he exited the meeting. On August 8, the Planning Board approved a Certificate of Compliance for a solar project at 0 Walnut Plain Road and Old Middleboro Road after Johnson reported that all disturbed areas appeared to be vegetated and stabilized.

            The Select Board approved Small’s request to appoint a new officer. He is Gene Robinson, an Acushnet resident whom Small said brings over a decade of police experience to Rochester, including as an officer in his hometown.

            The Select Board approved a request from Weigel to fund new, more digitally adaptable radios for better communications with the Police Department, an expense that will be paid for using ARPA funds. Weigel said he needs a total of 12 radios at $1,800 each. The board voted, allowing an initial expenditure of $25,000.

            The board set this year’s Tree Lighting event for December 4.

            Cannon announced the Fire Department will hold an Open House at its main station on Thursday, October 12, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm as a way for the public to see what maintenance (or replacement) the facility needs.

            The Rochester Select Board set its next meeting for Monday, October 23, at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

            Rochester’s Library Board of Trustees quickly dispensed with several of its most controversial issues in a stunningly brief meeting on September 28.

            The board started its meeting in a Senior Center room crowded with area residents by adopting the town’s flag policy (rather than adopting its own), wherein the library will only fly the flags of the town, the state, the Federal government and the military and, by implication, not those of special-interest groups such as the LBGTQ Rainbow flag.

            It then reapproved the library’s gift policy, which was first adopted in March 2008. Citing this policy, which states “Acceptance and utilization of donated materials is at the discretion of the library,” the board then made its most impactful decision of the night.

            The board voted to return the Rainbow-flag-lined Little Diverse Library that sits outside Plumb Memorial Library’s front entrance to Tri-Town Against Racism, the community-based group that donated the small mailbox-sized book depository to the town. It is here that the Rainbow flag flew, drawing residents’ complaints that sparked the library to take the flag down.

            Before the Little Library vote was taken, Trustee Chairperson Kelley Medeiros explained the motion to give it back to TTAR was based merely on the fact the town library controls its own grounds and staff and must accept gifts such as the Little Diverse Library only under agreed-to provisions.

            No such provisions were agreed to when a previous library director and trustees board approved the acceptance of the donation in January 2021, Medeiros said. The contents of the little library would not be under the trustee board’s control.

            Medeiros opened discussion on the issue by noting that recently 20 pieces of correspondence received on the issue were in favor of the library, 13 were against, and the grand total of all correspondence received since the issue arose has been 49 in favor of the little library and 18 against. She added, however, that while the board does not support any political agenda, it does have to support its policies.

            Rhonda Baptiste, vice president of Tri-Town Against Racism, protested Mederios’ assertion about the lack of an agreed-to provisioning, noting TTAR followed careful steps and did everything the group was asked to do.

            “TTAR’s steps to approval didn’t comply with our policy,” Medeiros answered.

            “We went through every single step,” TTAR President Alison Noyce said, “every single step.” She said this donation should not be changed just because some people are offended by certain books.

            Medeiros responded that the library should be a safe space for everyone. “This is to follow our policies, our gift policy,” she said.

            Medeiros then cut off public discussion, as several audience members had their hands raised, and she motioned for a vote. The resulting approval to return the library to TTAR was unanimous, but it was met with shouts of “boo” and “shame” from the crowd.

            Next, Medeiros made the crowd equally unhappy by motioning to table indefinitely proposals by Jeffrey Costa and Greg Hardy to install additional little libraries on Plumb library grounds. These proposals, too, passed unanimously. She explained to the crowd that this is merely a way to be fair and consistent with library policy. No provisions/conditions are being proposed for these little libraries either.

            Costa, a Rochester resident and Zoning Board of Appeals associate member, had recently suggested in a letter to the library board that a “little pro-family” (library) and “a little pro-freedom” be constructed next to the “Diversity Library” as a counterpoint to the latter’s messaging.

            After the meeting adjourned, Medeiros emphasized again that the little library is being returned simply because the steps to approve it did not follow policy. As to why she curtailed public discussion on the issue before the vote, she said, “Because it was debated at the last meeting, the public hearing two weeks ago. We have heard it all. It was time to vote.”

            Asked what the group’s next step with Rochester’s little library donation will be, TTAR Marketing Director Jessica DeCicco-Carey frowned and shrugged, saying the group is not really sure what it will do once the little library is returned to them. “We don’t have a decision yet,” she said.

            Noyce said Rochester is now the only one of the three towns in the Tri-Town area to reject a Little Diverse Library. “I’m embarrassed for them,” she said.

Rochester Library Trustees

By Michael J. DeCicco